Best mate's sister
by OhMyRowling3
Summary: This is my first fanfic! This is a romance between Harry and Ginny starting in the 4th book before the Yule Ball, but with some minor changes...Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Ginny walked outside feeling the cold of the winter. Moving slowly, she thought, "Maybe I should ask Harry to the Yule Ball…"

Even thought it seemed like they were just friends, her being Ron's sister, but that was not the case. Or at least it wasn't for Ginny. She has liked Harry ever since the first time she laid eyes on him. But he didn't know.

"_I need to find him before he already asks someone else," _she thought.

As she moved across Hogwarts grounds, she realized that Hermione was only a couple feet away from her reading.

"Hey Hermione!"

She turned with a slightly annoyed expression, then seeing that it was Ginny, she smiled. "Hi Ginny."

"Hey, do you know where Harry is?" she could feel her cheeks turn a dark shade of red as she spoke his name.

Hermione looked confused, but answered, "Oh, he just went to the Owlery. I think he said something about sending a letter."

She smiled, "Thanks Hermione!"

Being only a little bit from the Owlery, this made Ginny very happy.

Moving hurriedly from Hermione, she began to think of what to say to Harry. Should she be straight forward? Joke around a little?

How would she know? It's not like she's an expert dater or anything.

_OK, _she thought. _I'll just say, "Hi Harry, are you going with anyone to the Yule Ball? I was wondering if you wanted to go with me. So… do you?_" _Nah, that's too straight forward. I'd stumble or something, and then he wouldn't even know what I was trying to say!"_

Just then she got back into the real world and not in a very pleasant way either. I mean, running into a wall is never pleasant. Especially when it's the outside of the Owlery, and it's even worse when your crush is right there. Do you know what could make this even worse than it already is? That while you're running into a wall, your crush is snogging another girl.

Harry moved away from Cho and looked over at the ginger on the ground. "Ginny! Are you okay?"

"I'm, I'm fine." She stammered as she realized what was happening. She was just about to ask him to the Yule Ball and he was here, snogging Cho. She felt as if someone punched her in the stomach, and this pain was worse than running into a wall could cause. She was not fine, even though she said that she was.

"Are you sure? Your face is all red and your arm, oh my god, is that blood!?"

Cho gasped at the sight.

"Cho, I have to take her to the hospital wing. I'll see you at the Yule Ball."

This was just too much for Ginny. Partly because of the sight of her blood, and partly because of what Harry said, Ginny fainted.


	2. Chapter 2

Harry turned away from Cho with her hands covering her mouth. He then kneeled down and gently lifted up Ginny.

"Why don't you use magic? It's so much easier." Cho asked him.

He shook his head, "I don't want to take any chances. What if I stopped concentrating on the spell? No, it's too risky."

Cho nodded and Harry began carrying Ginny to the hospital wing, her red hair a big mess covering part of her face. As he walked, he looked down to admire her for a little bit.

_She's so beautiful, _he thought, _the most beautiful creature I have ever seen._

Then he realized what he was thinking.

_ No!!! She's Ron's sister! He's my best mate! We could never… I could never…_

His thoughts trailed off. In the back of his mind, he was still admiring her angelic features.

"Hello there Harry," Luna said, "What's wrong with Ginny?" She was wearing her Ravenclaw robes and radish earrings. I guess that's pretty normal for Luna, or as some call her, Loony.

"Oh, um, she fainted. I'm taking her to the Hospital wing."

She nodded concerned, "I do hope that she's alright."

He nodded, _so do I…_

"Well, I have to take her now, so, I'll see you later."

Luna smiled and skipped away idyllically.

Harry quickened his pace as he kept a good grip on Ginny.

In a matter of moments he was in the hospital wing entrance. Madam Pomfrey was standing feet away and turned when she heard Harry come in.

"What happened to her? Is she alright? Quick, get her to a bed, gently now."

Harry kindly let Ginny down on the bed and Madam Pomfrey went to her bedside almost immediately.

"She ran into the Owlery walls and fell down." He answered her question. "Will she be okay?"

She nodded and Harry exhaled, happy about her answer.

"She should probably wake in a few moments. When she wakes up get me so I can give her a little bit of something to keep her from getting dizzy and passing out again."

"What about the blood?" Harry questioned her, pointing to Ginny's arm.

"Oh, well that's not enough to cause her to faint. I'll just fix that up real quick."

She reached for antibiotics and some bandages and began applying them to Ginny's injured arm. Then she walked back to her office, leaving Harry and Ginny alone.

A little bit later Ginny woke up, just like Madam Pomfrey said she would.

"Ha-Harry?" she whispered weakly as she looked up to see him sitting by her bedside.

"Ginny, are you okay? How do you feel?"

She blinked and kept looking at him, as if she didn't believe that he was there. "I feel fine."

Harry smiled, "That's great, I was worried that you were sick… Madam Pomfrey said that you didn't lose enough blood to faint. What happened?"

Ginny immediately blushed, "Oh, nothing."

Harry was quiet a moment, thinking. Then it was his turn to blush.

"Did you, uh, see me and Cho um… you know?"

Ginny nodded.

Harry nodded.

Everything went silent.

"I didn't think…" Harry started.

"That I liked you?" she finished.

He nodded.

"Well, I do. I guess that's obvious now. But, it's kind of pointless. I mean, you were just kissing Cho. You're going to the Yule Ball with Cho. You don't like me."

"I never said that!" Harry was shocked to see that tears were rolling down her face. Ginny, always so strong, was crying. And it was all his fault…

"You obviously don't like me, you probably hate me." Her voice was shaky.

"But I…"

"Just go."

He shook his head, "Let me finish, please."

"Go!"

"But…"

"Just go," she said, giving up.

And he finally did.

On his way out, he stopped by madam Pomfrey, "Ginny's awake." He told her. And without waiting for a response, he left. And now, only one thing was going through his head. The thing that he was going to say to Ginny.

_But I love you…_


	3. Chapter 3

Harry walked to the Gryffindor common room to see Hermione and Ron sitting there.

"Hi Harry," Ron said.

"Hey, are you al right?" Hermione asked.

"Fine." He told them and went back out the portrait hole; he didn't feel like talking to them.

Ron seemed to be fine with that answer, but Hermione didn't. She followed him up the stairs.

"Harry!"

She tried catching up with him.

"Harry, stop! I can't catch up with you."

"Then stop following me!" he shouted over his shoulder.

"Harry, please! We can talk about it!"

He stopped, "You wouldn't understand, nobody can understand."

"Harry, please. I just want to help."

He shook his head; he couldn't stay mad at Hermione.

"Harry, what is it?"

She moved to a bench near them, Harry followed her.

"I just…"

His thoughts trailed on…

"What happened? This morning everything was fine. What went wrong?"

"Everything…"

She nodded, "Well, what is this all about?"

He just sat there.

"The Yule Ball?"

He nodded, "Partly."

"Did Cho say no?"

He turned to her, "She said yes."

A smile fled across her face, "That's wonderful Harry!"

He sat.

"Why aren't you happy about this? I thought that you wanted to go with Cho. Don't you like her?"

"I thought I did… but there's someone else."

She looked confused, yet interested. "Well, who is it?"

He focused on the ground.

"Come on Harry, I'm your friend. You can tell me."

He bit his lip, "Ginny."

Her face was suddenly full of emotion. She was happy, excited, shocked.

"Why didn't you ask her?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"She's Ron's sister. Ron would hate me if I… it would never work out."

Hermione put her arm around Harry. "Harry, you don't know that. He might just have to get used to it. And if you really like her this much…"

"But I can't do that to Ron."

She nodded, "Well, if it's just a crush then you'll get over it soon. I mean…"

He looked up at her, looking completely vulnerable. "That's the problem. It's not just a crush."

She tried looking concerned, but the more she thought of what Harry just said, the more confused she looked. "But Harry, we are only 14… you don't know if you'll still feel this way about her a week from now."

"Yes I do. I've felt this way a very long time."

She nodded.

"Did you tell her this?"

"I tried to. She fainted earlier…"

"She fainted!?" Hermione cut him off. "Is she okay? What happened?"

"She's fine… it's just… she fainted because she saw me and Cho kissing. I think that she was going to ask me to the Yule Ball, but she saw us… and now she'll never forgive me."

"Oh, Harry… you don't know that."

"Yes, I do. When she woke up she automatically thought that I didn't like her. She told me to leave. And I tried telling her how I felt, but she wouldn't listen."

A sympathetic expression washed over Hermione.

_Poor Harry, he must feel terrible…_

"You just have to tell her."

"She wouldn't believe me… not after what she saw."

They both sat there, and then Hermione broke the silence.

"I think I know what you have to do." He looked up at her. "You have to break up with Cho and try telling her how you feel."

"But what if she doesn't listen?"

"Make yourself heard," she answered plainly.

"Thanks Hermione."

"Are you coming back up to the common room?" Hermione asked Harry as she got up from the bench.

"I'll be up in a little bit. I just have to do something first."

She nodded, knowing exactly what he was about to do, and walked away.

A second later Harry stood up and began to look for Cho.


	4. Chapter 4

He raced down the hall with dreadful thoughts.

_She's going to be so mad at me! I just asked her to go to the Yule Ball with me and now I have to decline my offer! She'll never speak to me again!_

But as he walked, a few happier thoughts also filled his head.

_This is the only way to be with Ginny. I love Ginny. And she loves me… or at least she used to… Everything is going to be fine. Cho doesn't matter anymore. All that matters is Ginny._

Beads of sweat still stayed over his eyebrow, even though Harry loves Ginny, he doesn't want to hurt Cho. She's always been so nice to him. No one deserves to be hurt.

He moved quickly outside, running across the grounds. And then, he saw her. She sat there working on something; it looked like an essay for potions.

_Shoot, I still have to do that, _he thought.

He moved closer to her, "Hey Cho," he said. His voice cracked a little as he spoke.

She raised her head and at the sight of him her eyes gleamed with joy. "Oh, hi Harry! Is Ginny okay?"

She's so nice, too nice. And now he's about to break her heart.

She looked at him quizzically. "Is everything okay? Nothings wrong with Ginny, right?"

He breathed slowly, trying to calm his racing heart. "Um, nothings wrong with her."

She still stared, "Well, is there anything wrong with you? You look worried about something."

He nodded, "I am."

"Well, what are you worried about? Spit it out already."

He looked behind her, trying to focus on something else. He didn't want to see her cry, and he thought that she might.

"Well… it's just; I can't go to the Yule Ball with you."

She dropped her potions book, she was shocked. "What did you just say?"

"I, um, can't go to the—"

"I know what you said. I just meant… why not?"

His heart rate rose, "I realized that…" _Come on, just say it. _"I realized that I like someone else."

She picked up her stuff and looked him in the eye; tears filled her eyes to the brim. But she didn't look sad, she was furious.

"Who?"

"What?"

"Who is it!?"

"Ginny," he blurted out.

She shook her head, "Her!? Why her? She's nothing compared to me? What are you thinking!?"

"Look," he tried to calm her, "I'm sorry. But I always thought that we could never be together because Ron's my best mate. And well, I met you and—"

"You used me," she gasped. "You only asked me out because you knew that you couldn't have her."

"No," he shook his head, "It's not like that! I did like you! I do! I—"

"Then what is it!?" she snapped.

"I just… I don't love you."

They stood there and she wiped her eyes, letting him see all of the pain her caused her. "Well, I'm sorry that I'm not good enough for the boy who lived."

She turned away, but Harry grabbed her arm. "Cho, I'm sorry."

She looked at him, "You know, many other guys asked me out. But, you were the first. And I said yes to you. I didn't wait around for someone better. I liked you. I may have even loved you."

"I'm so sorry; I should have never asked you. It's just, I didn't think that me and Ginny would ever work out and… well."

"You know what? I don't care! I have many guys that would be privileged to date me! Maybe I'll ask Cedric if he would reconsider. He's the one that got his name out of the goblet. He deserves me more. Then I'll have someone. And you? You aren't even old enough to enter the triwizard tournament. And you never will have someone; you care too much about your friend Ron."

"Cho, I'm—"

"I don't care about you being sorry!"

"But—"

"You know what? Screw you! And Ginny! You can both kill yourselves trying to have a relationship! Or get killed by Ron trying. See what I care!" And like that, she ran away. But this time, Harry didn't try to stop her.

"I'm so sorry…" he whispered to himself.

_What if she's right? What if me and Ginny never could be together, all because of me and Ron? _

_ It doesn't matter; I have to at least try to be with Ginny. I love her and I would rather die than be away from her._

_ Ginny is the only one for me. I need her._

He looked up, it was already after dark. Time to go back to the Common room.

And then he headed there, right where he should be.

_I'll find Ginny tomorrow. It will be Christmas soon and by then we could celebrate together, _he thought as he lay in his bed. Everyone else was already asleep when he got up there, he should probably sleep to.

So he closed his eyes and slipped into the dark oblivion of sleep, seeing Ginny's face in his head the whole time.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning Harry was shaken awake. He opened his eyes to see a blurred vision of red hair and a freckled face? At first he thought that it was Ginny, but then he realized that he was in the boy's dormitory and she was definitely not a boy.

"Ron," he said realizing who it was, "Why are you shaking me?"

"Harry! How could you!?"

"How could I what? Give me my glasses."

He heard Ron pick up his glasses and held out his hand for them, in less than a second he could see once again. Ron was standing by him, looking angry.

"How could you?" he asked him.

"What are you talking about? How could I what?" he asked, completely disoriented.

"She's my sister!"

Then he realized exactly what he was talking about.

"Hermione told you." He told Ron simply.

"Yes she did! Bloody hell Harry, she's my sister."

"Ron, please calm down."

"Why should I!? You can't tell me what to do!"

"Ron, please."

He panted and then sat down on the bed next to Harry's.

"How could you feel that way about her Harry? She's my sister. You're my best mate."

Harry shook his head, "I'm sorry. I know that this is weird for you… I know that me liking your sister is awkward but—"

"What are you talking about?" Ron cut him off.

"Isn't that what Hermione told you?" Harry asked him, confused about why Ron was just screaming at him.

"Well, yeah. But that's not why I'm mad." He raised his voice, "You both like each other, and you asked Cho to the Yule Ball! How could you do that to my sister!?"

He was stunned.

"You don't care about me liking your sister?"

"Why would I? If someone has to like my sister, then I'm glad that you do. I mean, who's better for her than you?"

"I just… I thought that it would be weird for you. I thought that you'd be mad for some reason… I guess I was just being stupid."

"Uh, yeah, you were. Especially since you asked Cho instead of her!" he yelled in a blind rage.

"I thought that I would never have a chance with Ginny so I was trying to move on by asking out Cho. But last night I told her that I couldn't go because… well, because I love someone else."

Now Ron was shocked, "You… you love her?"

Harry nodded, waiting to be yelled at.

"That's wonderful! Have you told her? She seems so sad right now…"

"No, I haven't told her yet. I was going to tell her yesterday but it was already dark out. I planned on telling her today."

"Then go for it! You need to tell her! Hurry up and get dressed!"

And that's exactly what Harry did.

He put on new robes, got his shoes on, and ran down to the common room with a wave to a smiling Ron.

He got down to see Hermione sitting on a couch looking up at him.

"Where's Ginny?" he practically shouted at her.

"Um, she just left for the library. Why?"

"I need to tell her something."

"Well, what?" Hermione asked, wondering whether it was good or bad news.

Harry smiled even wider than he already was, "That I love her."

Hermione gasped, "Tell her Harry! Hurry!"

And as if a swift of wind, he ran out the portrait hole.

_Ginny, Ginny, Ginny, in the library, Ginny, Ginny, Ginny, in the library,_ was all that he could think.

He ran and ran, almost tripping over his robes. And a flash of red caught his eye as he neared the library.

"Ginny!!!" he screamed as loud as he could.

She turned around and stood there halfway down the hall heading to the library.

"What do you want? Haven't you hurt me enough yet?" she asked. Her eyes were red and puffy, she had been crying.

"I'm sorry. I didn't try to, I—"

"Look, I need to finish an essay for history of magic. So, I'll talk to you later, okay?" she said, her voice was shaky.

"Ginny, this can't wait. Please just talk to me."

She shook her head repeatedly, "No! Why don't you go talk to your girlfriend? Remember? You don't like me. You like Cho."

"I dumped her."

She froze, "But, why? Why would you do that?"

"I didn't love her." His heart pounded, "Ginny, I love you."

She was caught off guard, "You, you… what…?"

"I've felt this way for a while." He explained, "But I always thought that we couldn't be together because you're Ron's sister. I asked out Cho because I was trying to get over you. I know that's stupid, and I'm sorry for being a bloody idiot. But I love you, I've always loved you."

She stood there and tried to process everything that he was saying. "But you had Cho. What am I compared to Cho? She's prettier and smarter and I'm… I'm nothing."

"Don't say that! You're the most beautiful person I've ever seen! You're smart, you're funny, you're sweet, you like the same things as me, and you're perfect. And I love you."

She smiled at him, "I love you too."

And they ran to each other, knowing that now they could be together.

His arms wrapped around her waist and hers reached for his black hair, trying to get as close as the could. He stared into her brown eyes and she stared into his green. They parted their lips and moved closer, so their lips could touch. A spark of romance and love shot through both of them. And at that moment, they knew that they were meant to be.

A little bit away from them in the library entrance was where Cho stood watching them, hungry for revenge. Cedric turned her down and she was hungry for revenge. Seeing Harry happy and kissing someone else made her that much angrier.

She didn't care about him, she used him. She wanted him for show, her dating the boy who lived, that would make her even more popular than she already was. She had it all, except for him.

_Ginny needs to be gone, _Cho thought, _she needs to be gone for good. And there's only one way to do that. I just need to wait for the right chance. _

Then she thought of a curse, a curse that would solve all of her problems. And she knew that Harry had quite a history with that particular curse.


	6. Chapter 6

Harry and Ginny stayed there for a moment, engulfed in their feelings for each other.

"I love you so much," Harry told her. "You're the only one that could ever make me feel this way."

Ginny smiled at him, "I love you too, but I really did have to work on that history of magic essay."

He sighed, "I guess our love must wait," he said jokingly.

And with a peck on the lips, they went there separate ways.

The hall was empty except for Harry and Cho now. But Cho walked slowly and silently, lurking in the corners of the hall. Harry was of course oblivious to this, his mind racing.

_Ginny and I love each other. Cho was wrong, I will have someone. I do have someone. And I have the best person I could have ever hoped for._

A slight noise caused a sudden paranoia to overcome Harry. Someone was following him. He quickly jumped around to see Cho standing there.

"Hello Harry," she said with fake sweetness.

"Hi…" he replied, suspicious.

"I rather liked that little show that you and Ginny just performed for me."

Harry automatically blushed. It's not like he could help it. She just saw him kissing Ginny passionately, and for the first time.

"It looked _so_ romantic," she went on. "I'm sorry to say that it won't last for long."

His eyebrows rose, "What are you talking about? Ron's completely fine with Ginny and me being together. In fact he was overjoyed."

She gave him an evil smirk, "Oh, Ron's not the problem."

"Then who? It's not like you could do anything."

She frowned, "Maybe you shouldn't underestimate others. Especially people like me."

"What do you mean people like you?"

"You'll find out soon enough. Actually, maybe you won't. Feeding your curiosity isn't exactly on the top of my agenda."

He shook his head, "Whatever you're up to, it doesn't matter. Ginny and I love each other. And nothing gets in the way of love."

She shook her head, "I guess you don't know everything. Because some things do indeed get in the way of love, and with time, may even end it."

He looked at her, "What are you talking about?"

Her smirk widened into a smile, "Nothing, absolutely nothing."

Harry decided to ignore her and walked away, "Goodbye Cho." He said over his shoulder.

"Not for long," she muttered.

He was going to go back to the common room to tell Ron and Hermione about what happened, but someone stopped him.

"Harry, could I have a word?" Dumbledore asked.

He gasped and Dumbledore looked at him strangely.

"Sorry, you startled me," he said catching his breath, "Um, sure."

"Follow me to my office," and that's where they went.

When they got to the entrance Dumbledore simply said, "Lemon drops," and a spiral staircase appeared. They both entered and came up to his desk, sitting on opposite sides.

He opened a drawer and took out a book, a ring, a locket, a cup, and the Ravenclaw diadem.

"Do you know what a horcrux is Harry?" Dumbledore asked.

He shook his head.

"It's when a wizard splits their soul and hides a piece of it in an object or living thing. Do you know how a wizard would split their soul?"

He thought for a moment, "Murder." He answered plainly.

Dumbledore nodded.

Harry looked confused, "Why are you telling me this?"

"These are all horcruxes," he told him while motioning to the things spread out on his desk.

Then Harry recognized Tom Riddle's diary, "These are Voldemort's, aren't they?"

Dumbledore nodded, "Why yes, they are."

"I still don't understand why you're telling me this…"

"Harry, Voldemort cannot die unless all of his horcruxes are destroyed. I already found these, but I believe that there are more."

"How many more?"

"I think that Voldemort has seven."

"That means that there are two more…"

Albus smiled ever so slightly at Harry understanding him, "Harry, I need your help. We must find the other horcruxes before Voldemort kills us," he told him morbidly.

He was surprised, "But sir, Voldemort's been in hiding ever since he killed my parents. How would we find him in the end? How would we even find his horcruxes?"

"Where there's a will, there's a way. I wish that I could explain this more to you, but there isn't much time."

"What do you mean?"

He sighed, "I have knowledge that Voldemort and his death eaters are coming to Hogwarts, and soon. We need to destroy his horcruxes, and we need to do so immediately."

"Do you have any idea what they are?"

He bit his lip, "I think that his snake Nagini may be one but we won't be able to do anything about the snake until Voldemort nears. And I think I know what the seventh horcrux is, but I am unsure. That is why we must hurry."

"Sir, what do you think the last one is?"

"I shall not bother you with that information Harry. There is no need to worry. For now, I just need you to practice your spells. You must be ready."

"I will. But if you don't mind me asking, how will we kill Nagini when the snake is always right beside Voldemort?"

Dumbledore stood, "We will make a plan. But that can wait till tomorrow. We've been talking for nearly two hours, you must have something you would rather be doing."

He thought of Ginny and blushed.

"Aw, I see that I was correct. Now, why don't you go have fun and I will see you tomorrow."

He smiled, "Okay headmaster." And he began to walk away.

"And Harry," he added while pushing in his chair.

"Yes?" he turned to ask.

"Be careful, even thought Voldemort is not near, evil does invade this school."

He chuckled, "Anyone I may know?"

"Possibly," he answered grimly.

"I'll try to. Goodnight!" he told him as he left the office.

"Goodnight Harry," Dumbledore replied as he walked toward his bedroom, "And good luck."


	7. Chapter 7

Harry walked up toward the common room.

_Ginny must be done with her essay by now, _"He thought."

When he neared the portrait hole he saw something. It was red, small, and on the ground.

"Ginny!" he screamed as he ran to his lover, "Oh my God…"

She was laying there, no movement, no sound. There was no blood but there was definitely something wrong. He kneeled down next to her and checked her heart beat, her head, and her back. Everything seemed absolutely fine, except for the fact that she seemed to be knocked out. Then, he saw a note in precise handwriting.

_ "Hello Harry, _

_ I'm so sorry about your girlfriend. Everything's fine. It's just a sleeping potion. She'll be up in a few hours. But, let this be a warning to you. A warning of what's to come. Thing's could have been so much worse. I told you not to mess with people like me. You may not know who I really am or what I am capable of, but let me tell you something, I'm very competent of saying those two words. And unless you break Ginny's heart and dump her, I will break her spine, and you will never have her. _

_ I'll love you always, _

_ Cho Chang."_

He was shocked, so this is what to come. This is the danger that Dumbledore spoke of. This is the danger that he's been so oblivious to. And that danger was the girl that he could have been with right this moment, if it wasn't for Ginny.

He wrapped his arms around her and brought her into the Gryffindor Common Room. Upon entering everyone gasped.

"Harry, what happened!?" He heard Hermione yell.

"Um, she's just asleep," he told them weakly. Most of the people went back to what they were doing but Hermione, Ron, Neville, Fred, and George came over.

"Harry, what's wrong with her?" Ron asked quietly.

He shook his head, "She's just asleep, I already told you that."

Most of them nodded, and walked away. They were concerned and knew that something was wrong, but they also knew that Harry wasn't about to answer any more questions. That just left Hermione, one of his closest friends.

"Harry," she said softly, "What's been going on?"

He shook his head, "Can you help me bring her to her bed?"

"But boys aren't allowed in the girls dormitory. It's in A History of Hogwarts and it clearly states that—"

"Hermione, there's an exception to every rule."

She nodded and grabbed onto Ginny. She could tell that Harry was just barely holding on, probably in shock. If only she knew what had just happened.

When they got to the door Hermione moved one her hands to the doorknob and opened it up, entering the empty room. It was still quite early so most people weren't yet tired. Hermione guided him to Ginny's bed and they laid her down. They sat on the edge.

"Harry, tell me what happened. What's wrong with her? Really?"

He sighed and then told her everything. He told her about Cho's threats, about what Dumbledore asked of him, about what really happened to Ginny, and then he gave Hermione the not that Cho wrote him.

"Oh, Harry," she put a hand around his shoulders, "Is there anything I can do?"

He stood up and walked away, "No, there's nothing that you can do. I have to help Dumbledore, it can't be anyone else. No one else will defeat Voldemort, it has to be me. It has to be me because of the prophecy. 'Neither can live while the other survives.'"

She nodded, remembering what they learned the year before in the department of mysteries.

"And nobody can keep Cho away from Ginny. She's excelled in all of her classes, especially potions. And nothing can stop her from saying those two words. And… she keeps saying that I shouldn't underestimate people like her. People like what? What is she a death eater!?"

They sat there and then Harry's last words dawned on them.

"She's a death eater…" Harry said.

Hermione cut in, "Harry, you don't know that. Maybe she just has a temper or maybe she's—"

"Hermione, it's possible. And if she's saying 'people like her,' that doesn't that make this all a little suspicious?"

"But Harry, why would a death eater want to date you?"

He shook his head, "Maybe it's all just a lie. It's all a cover-up."

Ginny moved a little.

"She can't know any of this."

"But Harry, it concerns her. She has the right to—"

He turned towards her, "Hermione, we need to protect her from this. I love her." It felt weird saying that, I mean, he's just getting used to the idea of telling people how he feels, "I love her," he repeated, "And nothing can happen to her. Promise me that you won't leave her side. Promise me that you won't let Cho near her. Promise me that she knows nothing about the horcruxes. I don't want her to worry, I want her to think that everything's fine."

Hermione raised her voice, "But everything's not fine!"

"She won't know that," Harry told her sternly. "Please Hermione don't tell anyone. I don't want anyone to know, I only told you because I need someone to keep her safe when I can't."

Hermione nodded, "But what should I tell her when she wakes up?"

"Just tell her that she fell asleep in the common room when she came back from the library."

"Okay," She replied. "Harry, please don't look for Cho, I don't want her to—"

"Nothings going to happen to me; I won't let it." Ginny rolled over, "I need to go before she waked up. Bye."

"Bye," Hermione said as he went through the door to the boy's dormitory.

She sat on the bed next to Ginny's, which happened to be her own, and began to read her Charms book. A moment later Ginny sat up, eyes wide open.

"What happened? Where am I?"

Hermione closed her book and forced a grin, "You fell asleep in the common room after you came back from the library. Harry helped me carry you to your bed." She told her simply.

"Oh," Ginny replied disoriented. "I don't remember falling asleep. I don't even remember coming into the common room. The last thing I remember is walking to the portrait hole and Cho came over and… I don't remember anything else."

"Well, you seemed pretty tired. It's no wonder that you can't remember anything."

Ginny nodded, "What time is it?"

Hermione looked over at the clock on the wall behind Ginny, "It's 1:36."

She gasped, "Already!? I left the library at about 11:40!!! I slept for… an hour and fifty six minutes! Oh my God! That's practically two hours! I was meeting Harry after I was done!"

"Well, we might as well go down to the Great Hall; it's already time for lunch. I guess we're a little late, but I highly doubt that they'll run out of food," Hermione said, completely ignoring Ginny.

"Hermione!" she said shocked. "I need to see Harry!" She jumped up.

Hermione followed her, "Oh, I'll come with you."

She turned to face her friend, "You want to come with me to see my boyfriend…?" She said, stretching out each syllable.

Hermione nodded, "Why not? We're friends and I haven't seen him all day." She was getting worried about whether Ginny was going to always let her come with her. Like Harry said, she needs to watch her.

_What's wrong with her today? _Ginny wondered._ Usually she never wants to leave the common room because she's too busy studying or reading. What's with the sudden interest in having a life?_

She then realized how mean it was to think that.

_It's not that she doesn't have a life… She's just… Hermione. I love her, she's my best friend. But, she's Hermione… Oh well, she is my best friend._

"Um, okay. Let's go find him," she said, trying to sound happy about the idea.

And then they were off to the common room.

"Look who it is," Fred screamed at the sight of his sister. "It's sleeping beauty!"

"Such a wonderful pleasure to meet thee," George joined in.

Fred knelt down on a knee, "I am not worthy of meeting one with such capability of sleeping for endless hours!" and he bowed his head in mock shame.

"Oh, shove off!" Ginny told them, "It's not like sleep's a bad thing."

They laughed and ran off.

She rolled her eyes at them.

"Hey Ginny," she heard Harry say.

"Harry! I've missed you!" she screamed as she ran up to him, wrapping her arms around his body.

He smiled, "I missed you too," he let out a fake laugh. "Sleep well?" he asked her, trying to act normally.

She nodded, "Yeah, I still can't believe I slept for so long. I feel so bad! I was going to meet you after I was done at the library. I'm so sorry."

He lifted her head, "Ginny, you can't keep yourself from falling asleep. You were tired, there's nothing wrong with that."

"But, we could of hung out longer…"

"Well, we're together now," and with that he put an arm through her hair and pushed her lips to his.

Hermione smiled and left seeing that Ginny was in good hands, literally.

"Oi! Who's that kissing my sister!" he heard Ron yell.

He laughed, "Haha! Ron, it's me."

He moved closer to his sister and Harry, "Oh, carry on then," he said with a smile. "But not in front of me," he added.

Ginny rolled her eyes once again; her brothers could be so annoying.

"Well, since Ron has made it obvious that we are unwelcome here, let's go down to the Great Hall. It's almost lunch." Harry told her.

"Okay," Ginny smiled.

They walked toward the portrait hole and Harry motioned for Hermione to come, she moved slowly behind them. Keeping a good look at Ginny the whole time.


	8. Chapter 8

Hermione followed them closely, but not close enough for Ginny to notice.

Once they got back to the common room they sat on the couch. The room was completely empty; everyone was eating the delicious food that Hogwarts had to offer. Since it was quite impossible for Hermione to enter unnoticed, she sat down outside the portrait hole, the Fat Lady not even paying attention to her.

"Harry, I'm so sorry. I don't know how I could have been so tired… it seems so unrealistic… I don't even remember going to sleep." Ginny said.

"Well, you were pretty tired…" he lied.

She opened her mouth to say something but before she could Harry jumped up.

"What's wrong?"

He breathed heavily.

_I could have sworn I saw something… Something black and swaying… Could it be Cho? No, she doesn't know the Gryffindor Common Room password… Or does she…? _ Harry thought.

"Harry, what's wrong?"

He snapped out of it and looked at the beautiful girl in front of him.

"It's nothing… absolutely nothing," his voice shook as he spoke.

"Harry, you can tell me. What's wrong?"

"I, I just thought I saw something but there was nothing there…" he said stupidly.

"Oh, what did you see?" she asked.

"I don't know… just forget it."

"Harry—"

"Just forget it Ginny!" he screamed, not trying to.

She looked like a scared puppy, holding in her tears.

"Oh Ginny, I'm sorry I didn't mean to yell. It— it was just nothing. Okay? I'm really sorry… I shouldn't of raised my voice."

She wiped her eyes, "I was just worried…"

"There's nothing to worry about Ginny, I promise."

She nodded, "Okay."

He put his arms around her.

"I just thought that someone was watching us. I always feel like that."

This caught Harry's attention.

"What do you mean?"

"I just feel like something's wrong all the time, but when I'm with you it all feels so right. It's not like I've felt like this for long, only a couple of days… but still…" she looked into his bright green eyes, "You make everything so much better in my life. I love you and you love me. That's all that makes sense to me. Whenever you're away I feel people staring at me, looking at me like I'm an enemy and I don't know why. I have no idea… It's driving me insane." Her frail arms wrapped around his back, her face pushed against his shoulder as she cried.

"Everything is going to be okay Ginny. Nothing's going to hurt you. I'll be with you, nothing will be able to touch you."

"I'm starting to dream about it too…" she spoke silently, "I can never escape my dreams…"

He held her tightly, at lose for words. Ginny was always so strong and Cho was ruining her life, he was tearing her apart.

"You could spend the night with me," he blurted out.

She lifted her head, "What?"

"If, if you want. I could make sure that you're safe. I could be there for you…"

"But Harry, it's not allowed. I could get in trouble; I could get you in trouble. I won't let you do that for me."

He shook his head, "Ginny, I love you. I don't care if I get in trouble. I love you and I want to be there for you. You're the only thing that matters to me."

"But Harry, I never…"

"It's not going to be anything like that. I just want to be there for you…"

She nodded, trying to comprehend what he was saying.

"I love you Harry… and thank you so much. But I couldn't ask you to do that for me…"

"You're not asking, I am. I want to be there for you Ginny. Please let me protect you from everything that's bothering you. I love you so much it hurts to be away…" now he was crying, knowing what could happen every moment he wasn't near her.

"Okay…" she gasped and hugged him, "Thank you so much Harry." She whispered in his ear.

They sat there holding on to each other, tears in their eyes.

Just then Fred came in.

"What's going on here?"

They jumped apart and Fred looked at their blotchy eyes.

"Are you guys okay? You left kind of quick and… what's wrong?"

Ginny stood up, "You can tell him. I'm going to go find Hermione."

Harry nodded, knowing that Hermione was just outside.

After Ginny went through the portrait hole Harry looked at Fred.

"What's going on?"

Harry breathed out slowly, trying to slow his racing heard. "Ginny said that she keeps feeling like someone's watching her and its scaring her. She started having nightmares and well… I told her that she could spend the night with me…"

Fred looked shocked and sat down, "What?"

"She's just so scared and I don't want anything to happen to her…"

"But what would happen to her?"

Harry fell silent.

"What's going on Harry?"

He knew that he should tell Fred, he deserved to know.

"It's Cho…" he said simply.

Fred jumped up, "You better not like Cho while your dating Ginny!" he screamed.

"I don't! I love Ginny! I hate Cho! I hate everything that she's said and everything that she's done…"

"What did she do Harry?"

Then something seemed to go off in his mind.

"She wasn't sleeping… was she?"

He shook his head, "It was a potion…"

"Harry, what's going on? Why is Cho doing this?"

Harry took out the crumbled note from Cho that he stuffed in his pocket and gave it to Fred.

A moment of silence.

"Oh my God… why would she do this? Who would of thought that someone like Cho could be so evil… I mean…"

"I know," Harry spoke. "And she's never going to stop. We need to protect Ginny."

"She doesn't know, does she?"

He shook his head.

"Can you tell George and Ron what's going on…? I don't want him to freak out when Ginny comes in the boy' dormitory. I need to keep her safe and Hermione could watch her but… I don't know. I just, I need to."

"I get it," Fred said nodding.

This was the first time that Fred was ever completely serious, completely sincere.

"I'll tell Ron and George so we can all keep an eye on her when you can't. Does Hermione know?"

"Yeah, she realized that something was wrong with Ginny when she was 'sleeping.'"

They sat there for a moment, realizing how horrible this was. And then things go a whole lot worse.

Ginny bolted into the common room, "I couldn't find Hermione anywhere. Do you guys know where she is?"

Harry's blood turned into ice.


	9. Chapter 9

"What do you mean you couldn't find her?" Harry asked Ginny.

"She's gone. She wasn't in the hall or anywhere nearby and I could have sworn I saw her earlier when we were walking down here."

Harry shook his head, "No," he whispered.

Fred looked at him, scared, "I'll go get George and the others. Bring Ginny to the common room."

Harry nodded and Fred ran away.

"Harry, what's going on? Why is Fred getting the others? Where's Hermione?"

He put his arm around her, holding her closely.

"I can't tell you right now. All I can tell you is that I need to bring you somewhere safe."

"But why Harry? What's happening?" She looked frightened.

He bit his lip, "I'll tell you soon. Just come on."

Before she could object, Harry was already pulling her out of the Great Hall, one arm wrapped around her, resting his hand around her shoulder. His other hand held his wand, ready for attack.

They ran together to the Gryffindor Common room. Once they entered their friends sat there, Fred was talking to them.

"We need to protect her, we need to be ready for attack at any moment, we need to—"

"Fred!" Ron shouted.

"What?"

He pointed to Harry and Ginny.

"What's going on here?" Ginny asked. "Who are all of you protecting? Why do we need to be ready for attack?"

"Ginny, there's something I need to tell you…"

She turned to him, "What is it?"

"Well… When I told Cho that I didn't love her… When I told her the truth, well, she wasn't very nice about it…"

"Well, that's understandable. But what does that have to do with anything? So what? She liked you, she'll get over it."

Harry shook his head, "It's not like that. She didn't like me. She wanted me… for something. I'm not sure what; possibly to use as a cover-up; to hide her true identity."

"What identity?"

"Just read this, it will make more sense," Harry took the note Cho left for him from his pocket and handed it to Ginny.

A moment later she looked up. You'd expect her to say something like, "What kind of demented person is she?" But instead, she turned to Harry.

"You lied to me."

"I'm— I'm sorry. I just—"

"How could you?"

"I'm sorry…"

"You knew that she could hurt you, or Hermione, or everyone else in an effort to kill me… Why didn't you tell me the truth?"

She looked hurt, as if he just told her she was as ugly as a troll or as fat as a giant.

"I was trying to protect you Ginny, I'm sorry. I just thought…"

"You're wrong, you didn't think…"

He moved closer to her, "Ginny, I love you. I just didn't want you to go looking for her."

She shook her head.

He attempted to wrap his arms around her.

"You know me too well."

And with that, she ran off.


	10. Chapter 10

Sorry! I haven't added more in forever! I love you all! Thank you so much for the comments. I hope you enjoy this chapter

"Ginny!" Harry chased after her.

She didn't even reply.

He was catching up to her and she knew it.

She turned around, took out her wand, and shouted, "Petrificus Totalus!"

Harry immediately fell down, not able to move.

He could see a glimpse of her red hair, and then she was gone.

She dashed up the staircase, not giving anything or anyone a second glace, until she was finally in the Gryffindor Common room.

"Hey Ginny!" Neville shouted across the room.

She didn't reply, just ran up the stairs. But unlike the many other times she went up, she didn't enter the girl's dormitory; she entered the boy's dormitory. It was empty, which was lucky for her.

She searched for Harry's luggage, and began to search through it. Once she took out a few spare sheets of parchment a copy of 'History a Hogwarts", she found it, the cloak and put it on. She snuck back downstairs, carefully not touching anyone, but once she got to the portrait hole, she stormed out and waited.

Waited for what, you ask? You'll see.

Not even a minute late she saw one, a Ravenclaw. She couldn't remember her name, but she was nearing her and once she was close enough, she pounced.

She pushed a wand to her neck and whispered in her ear, "Follow me."

Ginny lightly pulled her to the side of the corner of the Seventh floor.

"What do you want," the Ravenclaw whimpered.

"I need to get into your common room."

"You – You're not allowed in there."

"I don't care; I _need_ to be in there."

"And how do you expect to get in?"

"You're going to help me in."

The Ravenclaw shook her head, for some reason, not scared.

"And why should I do that?"

"I thought you were smart," Ginny chuckled, "I have a wand against you neck, so you should do what I say."

She didn't reply, knowing there was nothing she could do.

"So here's the plan. You're going to bring me to the Ravenclaw common room door. The bronze knocker will ask you a question and you will answer, just like any other day, but you will let me follow you in. At that point, I will guide you until I find her."

"Who are you looking for?"

"Cho Chang."

She gulped.

"What do you want with her?"

"That doesn't matter. You're going to help me find her and you won't tell anyone else about our plan."

"This isn't our plan," she spat, "This is your plan. I'm merely the victim."

"No, you've got it all wrong," she grinned, "So tell me, do you like Cho?"

She shook her head, "No, but that's no reason to hurt her."

"She's trying to kill me."

She looked shocked, "Why?"

"Long story short, she wants Harry, I'm with Harry."

She nodded, "Okay, I'll do what you say."

Ginny began to feel a bit guilty, "Are you sure you're okay with turning against a fellow Ravenclaw?"

"She's barely a Ravenclaw."

Ginny nodded, "Well, we better be off."

"Okay," she started to walk down to the fifth floor.

"What's your name, anyway?" Ginny whispered.

**"****Mandy Brocklehurst," she answered, "I'm the same year as you."**

** "Your name does sound somewhat familiar."**

** Mandy smiled.**

** "I'm Gin –"**

** "I know who you are," she cut in, "Not to sound creepy or anything."**

** "Well, enough chitchat. We can't let someone hear us. Let's go."**

** They stood in front of the bronze, Eagle shaped knocker. Then, it spoke.**

"Hello young Ravenclaw. Please answer this question, Which came first, the phoenix, or the flame?"

Mandy barely thought for a second before she blurted out, "A circle has no beginning."

"Correct," and the door slammed open.

Ginny followed her inside.

The common room was about the size of the Gryffindor common room, but there were more bookshelves and instead of the colors being red and gold, blue and bronze filled the room. It was also quite neat and spotless; one thing out of place would stand out for all to see. Ginny looked up to see a domed ceiling covered in stars. Below her was a dark blue carpet with the same pattern.

It was practically empty, with two people reading at a table a few feet away, Ginny didn't have to worry about running into anyone.

Mandy lead her to an entrance on the opposite side of the room. Right inside it was a life size statue of Rowena Ravenclaw, made out of white marble. There were also two doors that must lead to the dormitories. She followed her through the door to the girl's dormitory.

The set up was exactly the same, the only difference was the colors. To their good fortune, they were the only ones in there.

"Lock the door," Ginny told Mandy.

"Colloportus," she muttered, and the door clicked shut.

"Where are Cho's things?" Ginny whispered.

"Over there," she replied even softer, pointing to one of the beds.

The bed was neatly made and there were no things on the ground or the table top by her bedside. Ginny squatted down and reached her hands under her bed, moving her arms left to right, until she finally felt something between her fingers.

She brought her hand back out and saw a crumpled sheet of parchment with ink on it. Once she smoothed it out, she saw that it was a map of the school. It immediately reminded her of the Marauder's Map, but this wasn't magical. It could have easily been made by a muggle, if they knew about Hogwarts of course.

It was perfectly normal, except for a small 'X' that was written on Hogwart's grounds.

Ginny looked up, "X marks the spot," she said with forced laugh.

She stuffed it into her pocket and put the invisibility cloak back on, "Come on Mandy, I'll tell you the rest of the plan once we're out of here.

Mandy nodded, "Alohomora."

To their surprise, Cho was standing in the doorway.


End file.
